Vehicle mounted take-out plow



NOV 24, 1953 J. c. RUTHl-:RFORD 2,660,104

VEHICLE MOUNTED TAKE-OUT PLOW v Filed oct.' 3. 1949 2 sheets-sheet 1 NOV' 24, 1953 J. C. RUTHERFORD 2,660,104

JOHN. C.RUTHE'RFORD Patented Nov. Z4, `1953 y* Y UNITED STATE OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention is a vehicle-mounted take-out plow particularlydesigned for operation between the vines, hills or trees gro-wing in rows for removing earth, weeds and trash between the vines, hills or trees of a row; and the present invention embodies certain new and useful improvements over the take-out plow disclosed i-n my Patent No. 2,539,864, issued January 30, 1951.

Among the obj ects of the present invention is to provide a take-out plow assembly. that may be readily mounted on a tractor and which will perform the intended operations with greater facility and better results than are obtained by the takeoutplow assembly disclosed in the aforementioned pending application.

In accordance with this invention the take-out plow assembly is so constructed .and arranged that the earth working blade thereof will swing laterally with respect to the tractor on a radius rather than directly inwardly and outwardly, with the result that a more efficient and complete cultivation between the vines, hills, or trees of a row is accomplished therewith.

Also in accordance with the present invention, the earth working blade of the assembly may be reversed so that it can be used with facility not only for removing the trash, weeds and the like between the vines, etc. of a row, but also to re-` place or push the earth back into the row between the vines or plants.`

In addition, with this invention the takeout plow 'assembly may belused to advantage on sidehill land where the take-outv operation must be performed on both sides of thetrow if such operation is to be properly performed. t

, The present invention, together with itsobgects and advantages, will be bestl understood and ap preciated when thefollowing` ,detailed description thereof isread with reference tothe accompanying drawingdn which is illustrated what is presently considereda preferredvembodiment of the invention, and wherein:

Figure 1 is awperspective viewillustrating an application oflv the invention, the tractor upon which the take-out plow assembly 1s mounted,

being shown fragmentarily;

Figure 2 is a perspective View, on an enlarged scale of the improved take-out `plow assembly, a portion of the side member of the chassis of the tractor being shown; 1 A

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational View of a rack. and detent assembly forming part of the invention;v n

LFigure 4 is afragmentary perspective view of `a roller-equipped link forming" part Aofthe invention, and

sary for an understanding of the invention. The

take-out plow assembly of this invention is indicated generally by the reference numeral I I, and.

as shown, is mounted on the tractor at one side thereof between the front and rear traction wheels of the tractor in a manner not to anywise interfere with the operation of the tractor or to require any material alterations in the tractor structure.

In accordance with this invention the take-out plow assembly II comprises an attaching beam I2 that is disposed at one side of the side member.

I3 of the chassis (not shown) of the tractor, and at its forward end is pivoted to the chassis member I3 by any suitable pivotal mounting such as shown in Figure 2 and indicated generally by the reference numeral I4. At its forward or pivoted end the beam I2 is provided with a lateral extension which, in the present instance, is illustrated as being in the form of a pair of upper and lower parallel, co-extensive arms IE-I 5. Pivoted to the arms I5 at the free ends thereof, and as indicated at I6, is a plow beam I 1 for lateral swinging movement relative to the beam I2. Beam II is shaped so that the free or rear end thereof extends downwardly. To the depending end of the beam I'I is removably attached an earth working tool or blade I 8. The blade I is provided at its rear or convex side with an attaching loop I9 adapted to be sleeved onto the depending end of beam Il andl secured in position thereon through the medium of bolt and nut means 20. It will be apparent that tool or blade I8 may be mounted on the beam I'I to face forwardly as shown in the drawing, and which position it will occupy when employed for removing the weeds and trash from between the vines or plants of a row; or alternately may be mounted on the beam in a position reverse to that shown in Figure 2, and when in this alternate position, employed to advantage for pushing the dirt back into the row between the vines or plants thereof.

For moving the plow beam Il inwardly and outwardly or laterally with respect to beam I2,

the beams I2 and Il are connected together through the medium of a linkage assembly now to be described. This linkage assembly comprises a narrow elongated guide member 2i that is suitably mounted on the beam I2 to ex'- tend lengthwise thereof unwardly from the free' or rear end thereof. Guide membr 2I is preferably in the form of an elongated frame presenting a guide slot 22 in which operates a roller 23 on the end 2li of a link 25. The mentioned end 24 of link 25, as shown in Figure 5, is in the form of a pair of upper and lower plates extending in spaced parallelism at an angle to link so as to straddle the guide member 2l. Roller 23 is rotatably supported between the aforementioned plates at the end 24 of link 25 through the medium of an axle bolt 26.

At the opposite end thereof link 25 is bifur.n cated or otherwise formed to accommodate one end of a link 21, links 25 and 21 vbeing pivotally connected at the mentioned ends thereof as at 28. At the other end thereof V,link -21 nis pivoted to the beam I2 forwardly of guide 2 I, beam I2 being provided with a pair of vertically spaced apertured lugs 23 between which the forward end of link 21 is accommodated and through the medium vof which and a bolt link 21 is pivoted to beam I2.

Mounted on the inner side of the p low'beam I1 and extending longitudinally thereof is a guide 3|. Guide 3! is in the form of `a skeleton frame structure formed of metal or other suitable material and is secured tothe beam I1 in any suitable manner. Guide 3I is formed to provide what may be termed a cam .slot 32 that, as shown, extends somewhat obliquely with respect to the longitudinal dimensions of beam I1, the spacingbetween the slot 32 and the beam I1 progressively increasing in a forward direction.

Arranged to operate within the cam slot .32 is what may be termed a cam roller 33 .carried by link 21 adjacent that end of the lin'k 21 pivoted to link 25. As shown in Figure 4, roller 33 is, carried by link 21 through the Ymedium of a Ll- Shaped member ,34 that extends laterally from the link 21 and ka,c cornrnodates .an axle bolt 28 for the roller 33. It will be apparent that the member ,34 straddles the guide 3l with the roller Y3,3 accommodated Within the slot 32 of the guide 3l.

To manipulate the linkage Connection just described between beams I2 and I1, there is provided a hand lever 35. Lever 35, intermediate its ends, is pivoted as at 36 to a standard 31 suitably mounted on and rising from beam I2. At its lower ,end lever is operatively connected to the link 25 through the medium of a link 38. Link 38 at one end is pivoted to the lever 35 as at 39 and at the opposite end thereof has a universal connection with link 25 through the medium of a yoke 40 that is pivoted to the link 25 as at 4I and is also pivoted to the link 38 as at 42. (See Figures 2 and 5.)

From the foregoing it will be apparent that by proper manipulation of lever 35 motion is transmitted to the link 25 to cause the roller 23 associated therewith to move lengthwise in the guide slot 22, and this movement of link 25 is transmitted to link 2'1 to cause the roller 33 associated with the last-mentioned `link to move lengthwise in the cam slot 32. Movement of -roller 33 in the slot 32 will cause plow beam I1 to swing on its pivot I6 laterally inwardly or outwardly depending upon the direction of movement of the roller 33 in slot 32. Manifestly when the lever 35 is swung in one direction to cause the roller 33 to move forwardly in slot 32, beam I1 will be caused to swing outwardly from beam I2, or from the position shown in Figure 2 to substantially the position shown in Figure 1, while movement of the lever 35 in an opposite direction will cause roller 33t@ move rearwardly within '4 the slot 32 or substantially to the position shown in Figure 2 for causing the beam i1 to move inwardly towards beam I2 from substantially the position shown in Figure l to substantially the position shown in Figure 2.

It will thus be seen that with blade I8 facing, as shown in the drawings, the same may be operated between vines, hills or trees of a row to remove Vgra-ss and weeds from between the vines, hills or trees of a row, and with the blade I8 facing in a direction directly opposite to that shown in the drawings, the blade may be operated for Apushing the dirt back between the vines, hills or trees of a row.

VFor :controlling the working depth of the blade i8, and for lifting the blade I8 upwardly to an out-of-the-way position when the tractor is moving from one site of operation to another, there is provided a lifting and lowering lever 43. This lever is pivoted adjacent its lower end as at 44 to a standard 45 suitably mounted upon and rising from the chassis frame member I3. At its pivoted or lower end lever 43 is provided with a suitable. lateral extension 45 that has a suitable link connection 41 with the beam I2 of the takeout plow assembly. Any suitable connection I1 may be employed, but for purposes of illustration I have shown the same as consisting of a rod extending upwardly from an anchor bracket 43 mounted on the beam I2 and having at its upper end a working t through an eye bolt 49 provided on the lever extension 45. A springr 53 is convoluted about the rod of the connection 41between the anchor bracket 48 and the eye bolt 49 and a stop nut 5I is threaded on the upper end of the aforementioned rod. It will thus be seen that by swinging the lever 43 in a counterclockwise direction beam I2, plow beam I1 and assocated parts will be caused to swing upwardly as a unit to raise the blade IB to the desired elevation.

To secure the blade I8 at the desired elevation or at any selected digging depth, lever 43 is equipped with a suitable spring biased detent 52 coonerable with a rack segment 53, in a manner believed to be apparent, and which segment is suitably mounted on the aforementioned standard 45. A suitable manipulating lever 54 for the detent 52 has a link connection with the latter and is pivotally mounted as at 55 on the handle 43 (see Fieures 1 and 3l.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a take-out plow assembly which may be readily mounted on a vehicle such as a farm f tractor, with the manipulating levers of the assembly positioned convenient to the operator, and which, when so mounted on the tractor, provides for the swinging of the earth working tool latern ally in and out between the vines, hills or trees of a row to remove the grass and weeds from between the vines, plants, etc. and for replacing the dirt following the clean-out operations. It will also be understood that while the plow assembly of this invention is particularly designed for use in vineyards, it may be employed with equal advantage in berry elds and in connection with any type of row crop that is planted with the rows thereof far enough apart as to permit a tractor to travel between the rows.

While the invention has been described in detail in its presently preferred embodiment, it will, of course, be understood that such has been done for purposes of illustration only and not by way of limitation, and therefore only such limitations are to be imposed thereon as may reasonably come within the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A take-out plow assembly comprising a beam adapted to be pivotally mounted to the chassis frame of a vehicle at one side of the latter to swing vertically relative to the vehicle, `a plow beam pivotally connected with the rst beam and adapted to swing laterally toward and away from the vehicle, a manipulating lever for the plow beam pivotally mounted on the rst beam, a guide member mounted on the rst beam and having a guide slot extending longitudinally thereof, a guide member mounted on the plow beam and having a cam slot, a pair of links pivoted to one another, one of said links having an end pivoted to the rst beam and provided intermediate its ends with a cam roller engaging in the cam slot, the other of said links being provided adjacent the free end thereof with a roller engaging in the first-mentioned guide slot, and a link pivo-tally connecting said lever with the last-mentioned link of said pair whereby upon rocking movement of said lever the plow beam is caused to swing laterally relative to the rstmentioned beam.

JOI-IN C. RUTHERFORD.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,276,051 Geirman Aug. 20, 1918 2,206,283 Jacobs et al. July 2, 1940 2,437,581 Wray Mar. 9, 1948 

